The Bernard Blues and BBQ Festival will be held Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 9-10. / Joyce Nix

CULLMAN - Saint Bernard Prep School is adding a fall festival this year: the Bernard Blues and BBQ Festival. This arts, crafts and music festival will be held on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 9-10, 2017 on the beautiful campus of Saint Bernard Abbey and Prep School.

Due to the popularity of the school’s spring Bloomin’ Festival, many artisans and patrons expressed a strong interest in a fall festival.

“We have received numerous requests for the school to host a fall festival, so we felt it appropriate to wrap up the 125th Anniversary celebration at Saint Bernard with the Bernard Blues and BBQ Festival,” President, Father Joel Martin said.

Festival Director Joyce Nix, who has directed 33 festivals at the school, says artisans are registering now to participate in the busy weekend. “Whether one is shopping for seasonal decorations such as Halloween, Thanksgiving or Christmas, something unique will certainly be available at Bernard Blues and BBQ,” she said.

“We invite Alabama and neighboring states to attend and support the handmade works of our artisans while enjoying a variety of music we have planned for the weekend,” Nix said.

Get ready to tap your toes while enjoying live entertainment throughout the weekend. Visitors can expect to hear live blues music provided by Microwave Dave and the Nukes, of Huntsville on Saturday from 10 a.m. until noon, bluegrass and sacred music from Chimney Branch, of Addison on Saturday from 2-4 p.m. Sunday, Sweet Licks Dixieland Jazz Band, of Birmingham will perform from 10 a.m. until noon, followed by some Americana Blues by Coco O’Connor and the Redeemers of Nashville, Tennessee, at 1 p.m.

The hickory-smoked aroma of barbeque ribs, pulled pork, hamburgers and hotdogs will fill the air. Pair that with ice cold tea, Pepsi or freshly squeezed lemonade, and top it off with Saint Bernard’s famous strawberry waffles, funnel cakes, fried spiral potatoes, caramel apples, kettle corn, monk’s bread and more. Whole butts and full slabs of ribs will also be available.

A hands-on art and craft center for children will be available as well as a cash giveaway of $10,000.

Bernard Blues and BBQ promises to have something for the entire family! Mark your calendars and plan to visit Cullman, Sept. 9-10, 2017 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. An admission donation of $5 per person is requested.

Anyone wishing to participate should contact the school at 256-739-6682 to request a booth application for original handmade items only. This is a juried show and all work must be pre-approved.

All proceeds from the event benefit Saint Bernard Prep School in Cullman. Operated by the Benedictine monks at Saint Bernard Abbey, Saint Bernard Prep is a college prep boarding and day school for grades 7-12.